They see the alternate origins as part of a larger phenomenon whereby groups such as the Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians, as part of an effort to achieve greater civil emancipation and to escape anti-Roma prejudice, made an effort to separate themselves from other Roma and constructed a novel history for their peoples.

[16] A 14th-century reference to a placename (Агѹповы клѣти, Agupovy klěti) in the Rila Charter of Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria was thought by some authors, such as Konstantin Josef Jireček, to be related to the Balkan Egyptians, possible descendants of the Doms in Egypt.

[10] After the war ended in 1999, some of them reaffirmed their identity as Ashkali to show their pro-Albanian stance and distinguish themselves from the Arlije and Gurbeti Roma, who had been mistakenly viewed as pro-Serbian.

However, viewed by the majority population as pro-Serbian Roma, they were persecuted by Albanian nationalists in the presence of NATO forces.

Ashkali are predominant in the central and eastern regions of Kosovo: Ferizaj, Fushë Kosova, and Lipjan.

Kosovo's Egyptian community is mostly to be found in its western part, in Gjakova, Istog, Peja, and Deçan.

[21] In Albania, however, the Balkan Egyptian community is fully integrated into Albanian society and culture, having a high educational and employment rate as well, although a good percentage of the community do not identify as Balkan Egyptian due to cultural integration and also because of negative stereotypes about people of color.